Intelligence Agency Asks DoT to Ban Call-Spoofing App WePhone

In a bid to stay informed about the callers’ identity, an intelligence agency has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to block the use of WePhone app. The tool allows you to conceal the identity of the caller.

Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and IT, enlightened members of Lok Sabha about the issue –

A reference from an intelligence agency was received by the Department of Telecommunications to block the ‘WePhone App’ which facilitates its subscriber to spoof the Calling Line Identification (CLI) through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platform.

The WePhone app works on the simple mechanism of transferring the call to the server abroad, which marks for the original location of the caller. This makes it really difficult for the intelligence agency to track the location of the call.

DoT formed a technical committee who found out that a number of computer or mobile applications can be skipped from the getting identified. Mr. Prasad talked about the committee report saying, “Based on the recommendations of the committee, the matter was taken up with the Group Coordinator, Department of Electronics & Information Technology, who issues the direction for blocking such identified websites.”

The statement depicts the intentions of the intelligence agency in clear light, but it is yet not confirmed if the government has carried out the request.